CYBERBULLYING AND THE LAW: WHAT CAN A VICTIM DO?

CYBERBULLYING AND THE LAW: WHAT CAN A VICTIM DO?

Introduction In 2016, a 21 year old student from Tamil Nadu named Vinupriya , had been cyber Bullied and harassed over online. Someone morphed her pictures into obscene images and posted them on social media. After this, she and her family got bullied socially and went for a police complaint. Where it was being really difficult for the victim to face the harassment , police were failing at investigation. Because of constant bullying and shaming, she took her life. Though the culprit got arrested after her death in the same year, her family was still going through distress and disguise for losing their child. It came out in public that the guy, P. Suresh, who committed it, was not someone who was known to the victim. P Suresh was arrested and detained later on but it was really not fair for the victim to lose their life over online bullying and harassment. If the police were more careful with the case and her justice, a family might not have lost their child. [ **Read more on Times of India** ]

Like this one, we get to see so many instances around us where the victim gets blamed for someone else’s wrong doings. So what we can do if we face such situations?

What’s cyberbullying? Cyberbullying refers to an offense by using EC (electronic communication); such as social media platforms, messaging apps, emails and online forums to bully or harass an individual. It includes: ★ sending threatening or abusive messages. ★ publicly shaming or defaming someone over online. ★ Sharing of personal information or images without consent. ★ creating fake profiles to harass someone. ★ stalking and repeated unwanted communication. Legal provisions against cyberbullying in India

1. BNS (bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), 2023 • section 79 of BNS punishes cyber stalking . • section 351 and 352 punish online threats for blackmail and intimidation. • section 75 punishes online sexual harassment. • section 354 punishes defamation over social media.

2. Information technology act, 2000

• section 66C and 66D covers identity theft, online impersonation and fake social media accounts used for Cyberbullying . • covers publication and transmission of obscene content like morphed images, revenge porn, and explicit messages.

Filing of complaint Victims of cyber bullying can seek legal action through the following ways: • By filing a police complaint under BNS and IT Act provisions. • By dialling women’s helpline number 1091 for Cyberbullying . • By dialling child helpline number 1098 for Cyberbullying. • By registering online complaints to www.cybercrime.gov.in .

Conclusion After being familiar with this term, cyberbullying; we still lack knowledge sometimes about what to do or how to do things when we face such offense personally. For this, the above mentioned legal provisions and actions would help in an emergency. Cyberbullying can mentally affect a person towards anxiety, depression or in some cases; self injury or suicide. So it is very important for us to be not only aware of the situation when we face it, but also how not to be the one to commit such offense.